Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Nice...

Hmm...someone apparently doesn't realize that we have a subscription to the paper. But as it is, if they're going to send us articles from it we might as well cancel the subscription!

Well, the important articles anyway:














I did go rather OCD over the way the clippings were folded and the crooked stamp....but I thought the typewritten address on the envelope was a nice touch.... :p

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Anonymous strikes again...

Stalking is a criminal offense in North Carolina, isn't it?

If Anonymous doesn't exercise a bit of self-restraint, we'll have to unleash the NAPU.

Anonymous said...

Goodness...that is ridiculous!

I guess if you're having trouble finding a contract you could just change careers, though :P

N said...

Probably!

Um, a Greater Mouse Deer? Surely NAPU is something else...

Haha, yeah, Rebecca. :D

Anonymous said...

That'd be the National Association of Protective Uncles.

N said...

Oh, cool! Well-armed ones too... :)

Lauren said...

O my goodness! That is so ridicoulous...im sorry! Thats so weird! and its not even their business!!!! who on earth???

Beth said...

I think A. Nonny Mouse's influence is starting to work on me. Natalie, listen up, here's the deal. You HAVE to go to college. What, you don't WANT TO? You don't have a career goal that will be met by going to college right now? You are keeping your options open?

(THUD) What a terrible mother I am to have raised such an ingrate.

You NEED to go to college! Do you know why? Because they can teach you things that will make you so employable you won't be able to get a moment's rest. You will learn things like Logic! You will become Socialized and learn How To Get Along With People in Polite Society! You will learn How To Spend Your Time Profitably!

Why...if you went to college, and worked really, really, really hard...I bet you turn out to be just like Anonymous! What a breathtakingly awesome goal to reach for...and yet, I dare to believe you could do it.

Amanda A Gordon said...

So... maybe I missed something... but do you know "Anonymous?" (I guess this is a joke?)

I agree that if you don't have a career goal or you do have a career goal that does not require college, don't go; it would be a waste of time and money.

Nat or Beth, what do you mean by 'keeping your options open?'

N said...

Actually Amanda, I don't know who Anonymous is...so I may or may not know them in real life.

And yes, for that matter, I don't have any good reason to go to college right now, and so it would be a waste of time and money.

Um, I think Mom was mostly being sarcastic...I don't know what she meant at any rate. :P

You will become Socialized and learn How To Get Along With People in Polite Society!

Heehee...I do that at contra dancing. :)

Hmm, speaking of well-armed...NC law allows anyone 18 or older to own a handgun...that's fascinating.

Beth said...

Amanda, I hope I don't know Anon. personally. IOW, I hope s/he is NOT who I think s/he is. The type is pretty common on the Internets, unfortunately. So it's possible that s/he is just a sad person, presumably college-educated, with time on his/her hands. My preference would be to just ignore this kind of childishness.

About options, though...I think that a lot of young people would have a better grasp of what college major, or no college major at all, would serve them best if they spent more time in the real world before they made a decision to go to college. I know you don't have to declare a major immediately, but choice of school can depend on major. It's just my opinion that kids are getting slotted into college, and into a handful of majors that are supposed to lead to good jobs, without having the breathing room to consider what they are really called to do.

Beth said...

Since I'm incapable of being brief, I'll make this part a separate comment. :)

I have a hunch, only a hunch, that we will look back at a certain span in American history and see that there was a "bubble" where college degrees were more common and considered more important than they were before the "bubble" and than they will be after.

Just for the sake of argument, I'll assign the years 1975-2015 to this bubble period. Someone with the time to do the research could pinpoint the starting date closer than that.

I think it's highly likely, Amanda, that when you have a 19 year old son or daughter our discussion about college and careers will be quite a bit different.

I'm also not sure if Natalie and I, and Tom also, think the way we do about college because we're at the beginning and end of the theoretical "bubble". It may be just because we are iconoclastic and stubborn and like to be different. :)

Christopher said...

Please let me have the honor of admonishing some of you good people. Forgive me in advance if I'm out of line. Normally I would join in on the fun, but Anonymous may still be reading these comments and I think this may be for him/her too.

Most of us know what you guys have said about "higher" education is true and right and I am in complete agreement. But consider Anonymous, hereafter referred to with the gender neutral pronoun of *peep. Anonymous is either very concerned about you, Natalie, or peeps foundational belief system is shaking 'cause we've been kicking at it. It might be that peep has spent the last 4 years floundering in an establishment trying to figure out what kind of cog in the world system peep wants to be. And the mere thought of it all being a mistake is too much for peep. It may be worse.

I remember once we were at a party, my wife and I, and a middle-aged-female cog friend of ours was talking to a small group of us. She had just finished her stint as the president of a union where she worked. Knowing the choices in life we had made, she remarked how she was glad that she had not wasted her life by having kids and then staying home to raise them; that she had made something of her life.

What could her motivation be other than her doubt that she had made the wrong decision. Our first "natural" response was to resent. But when we looked at it from her perspective we began to feel pity and a need to pray for her.

If Anonymous was motivated by your well being, peep should blessed; if by peeps doubts, prayed for. Since we don't know, maybe both.

The last few comments I've posted on other blogs have been terminus.
By golly I think I'm a wet blanket.

* I hate it that we don't have a pronoun for a person of an unknown gender, so I'll borrow the noun "peep" from the vernacular.
I, you he, she, peep, it, we, you, they.

Anonymous said...

Christopher, if I might respond...

I'm intrigued by the idea that your "cog" friend must be doubting her own decisions; what led you to reach such a conclusion?

Certainly you've met folks with strong opinions - folks who have no reservations about sharing them with one and all, and absolutely no understanding that what works for them might not be the best for everyone else in the world.

If not, visit a homeschool convention! Interaction with a thousand highly-opinionated women and a few hundred MWaPs("Man With a Plan") will disabuse you of your current notion.

For example, if you were to meet me and have a discussion about protection of one's loved ones and the intrinsic value of fine firearms, you might (quite incorrectly) assume that I'm either fearful or compensating for some strange childhood experience. (Of course, you might not assume this - you might assume other things, or nothing at all!)

I believe the psych folks call it projection - ascribing our own unacceptable motivations to the negative actions of others.

Anonymous might not have the courage to say these things to Natalie directly, in which case (s)he would be better served by not saying them at all. Anonymous might already be saying them in person, and might believe that adding an "additional" complementary opinion to the mix might further support his/her arguments.

Regardless of Anonymous' motivations or intents, (s)he crossed the line with the anonymous forwarding of newspaper articles. Such an action clearly states "I not only know what is best for your life, but I also know where you live."

Let's face it, dear Anonymous - if you're going to have the sheer audacity to tell someone in a public setting that you know what they should do with their life, you should at least consider that your refusal to identify yourself most appropriately devalues your expressed opinion.

I'm James Beatty, and I approve this message.

Amanda A Gordon said...

Nat, this is quite a discussion. I do agree with Uncle Jim, (I think,) that I am surprised someone from the Internet knows where you live... I also agree with Christopher, (I think,) that this person could possibly care about Natalie but be trying to avoid confrontation; (I am not saying this is the best way.)

Beth, your comment about having more experiences before declaring a major and going to college really makes sense. In fact, when I was in high school, I had several opportunities to shadow people in their careers and choose one to follow for an Internship.

I asked about the "options" comment yesterday just for the info. Apparently as "Anonymous" had concluded, I didn't think college was an option at all to Natalie and I was just curious as to what she was considering. Let me also make the point that I am discussing this because it is a blog post. I agree with Lauren that it is Natalie's business as Titus 2:4 also tells us to keep our own houses... not tend to other people's business.

Finally, I will say, (reflecting on my comment yesterday,) being "educated" or "informed" is important. I encourage "education," but this can happen in many forms. I did go to college and generally encourage it. Sometimes, education provides "more options" rather than "closes" some. I, as well as most people, had a misconception of college before I visited a college and actually attended, but it is not for everyone.

Finally, I may sound different if I was a mother, but I was 19 once, considering similar issues, I have influenced my own siblings, and I deal with children every day. My studies, (in The Word,) and my experiences now are preparing me for whatever the future holds, perhaps motherhood. Although we all grow and adapt as time passes, I will still be the same person, with similar or even the same views, in 5, 10, or 50 years.

(Just FYI, I am the only person from my immediate family and much of my extended family to go to college.)

I think we can all agree that it is important to 1. Seek the Lord's Will for our lives 2. Be prepared for whatever the future holds. We may just approach this in different ways.

Respectfully,
Amanda

Amanda A Gordon said...

Let me also add another post, (like Beth :). I don't think college is the end-all-be-all, the thing for everyone, worth all it costs, will give "answers" etc etc etc, but whether we are in this "bubble" or not, there are plenty of jobs and careers that require a degree, (and I am glad, particularly when it comes to such professions related to the medical field! :) )That's why I went in the first place.

I must be honest though, I did get more out of it than I was expecting.

Christopher said...

Hi Jim,

The thought that Anonymous knows Natalie's address didn't cross my mind, it should have, and you made some other very good and strong points.

If (s)he does indeed know Natalie, it shows lack of character that (s)he didn't identify hirmself.

I've been to the Winston-Salem conference many times and may have met you! And you're right. Perhaps I didn't think completely through my comments before posting. I stand corrected on assuming someone's motivation.

Also, I felt corrected by Him on being a cog. That could very well be someone's calling and I shouldn't judge one on that either. For you cog lurkers out there, please accept my apologies.

Now I'm almost wishing I posted as Anonymous...almost.

Beth said...

One last comment from me, by way of clarification: When I said way up there above that when Amanda had a 19-year-old child our discussion will be different, I did not make myself plain enough.

What I meant is that I believe that the changes our country is going through, economically and governmentally, are going to affect how many people go to college and how it is viewed in regard to employment.

I think it sounded like I was saying "When Amanda is as old and wise as I am, she will know better." :) That was NOT AT ALL my intent.

We've had the college vs. no college on this blog and in the comments to the point where it has probably become tiresome to most of Natalie's readers. I don't know why it's such a hot-button issue, but it is.

In the future, I suggest Natalie should bring up calmer, less inflammatory subjects such as: Republicans vs. Democrats, Calvinists vs. Arminians, and PC's vs. Macs. (I'M KIDDING, PEOPLE!!!)

And because I think this is a really cool way to end a blog comment...I'm Elizabeth Roth, and I approved this message. (snort!)

Amanda A Gordon said...

Less inflammatory subjects... (not from that approved list...) Nat, can I choose the next discussion?! :)

Come on Beth, you know we can all only hope to be as old and wise as you! HA! LOL! :) (Can I get away with such a joke or just blogger brothers named Uncle Jim?)(Thanks for the clarification.)